He returned to Countdown for Series 72, starting his run with an impressive 14 maxer against Charlene Rose. Seven more victories, including two by more than 100 points to confirm him as the clear number 1 seed for the finals. In his quarter-final, Cappleman failed to score a century for the first time, but returned for his semi-final with an impressive 12 max against Kevin Steede, to set up a final with Tracey Mills. Despite falling behind early on, Cappleman took the lead after the first numbers game and never looked back, eventually winning 107 – 89.

In July 2016, Cappleman appeared on Series 12 of Only Connect as part of the "Verbivores" team alongside fellow Countdowners and Phyl Styles and Series 65 champion Graeme Cole. They went on to win the series in April 2017.